Environmental degradation, illegal wildlife trade, and human-wildlife conflict undermine development and pose significant risks to health, climate change adaptation, peace and security. They weaken natural resource management and result in economic losses for communities that rely on wildlife and ecosystems. There are multiple approaches to mitigate these threats, but they are often gender blind when they should be gender equal. Illegal wildlife trade exists in the same gendered social spheres as everyday life. Evidence suggests that most poachers are men: in most studies, men comprise more than 90% of people subjected to illegal wildlife trade-related enforcement actions. This raises the question of why.  Are male poachers simply meeting livelihood needs, or are they also enacting masculinized expectations? 

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